What Is Tablet Mode?

Tablet mode is an optional feature allowing Windows 10 users with touchscreen-enabled PCs to use their devices by touching the screen rather than using a mouse and keyboard. Tablet mode displays the Windows 10 user interface to optimize the PC’s use as a tablet. Such optimization usually includes large app icons, fewer icons displayed, and an on-screen touch keyboard.

Tablet Mode vs. Desktop Mode

If you’re a long-time user of Windows PCs, you’re probably more familiar with Desktop Mode than Tablet mode. Tablet mode is a feature created to allow users to interact with their PCs without using their keyboard or mouse. Desktop mode is essentially Tablet mode’s predecessor, offering a classic Windows Start menu and desktop with as many thumbnail-sized programs, apps, and document icons as a person could want. The main difference between the two modes is their appearance. Desktop Mode provides a classic point-and-click workspace. Tablet mode largely eschews the display of many tiny icons in favor of large, square app tiles featuring animations or content slideshows. The classic Start menu appears to be missing from Tablet mode, but it’s been moved to the screen’s center. The large tiles are the Start menu, and they’re no longer relegated to the left-hand corner of the screen as they were in Desktop Mode.

How to Enable Windows 10 Tablet Mode

There are at least three ways to access and enable Tablet mode and its settings within Windows 10.

Using the Start menu

You can bypass the Start menu and access the Tablet mode settings from the Windows 10 Search. To choose whether desktop mode or Tablet mode is enabled when you turn on your computer, select the When I sign in drop-down menu and select either Use tablet mode or Use desktop mode.

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If you want to hide the Taskbar entirely, toggle on Automatically hide the taskbar in tablet mode.

Using the Action Center

Another option is to access Tablet mode settings via the Windows 10 Action Center.

How to Disable Windows 10 Tablet Mode

You can also disable tablet mode in a few different ways.

Via the Action Center

The quickest way to disable Windows 10 Tablet mode is through the Action Center.

Via Settings

You can also disable tablet mode by going to the Windows 10 settings.